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The main theme for November is “THE UNKNOWN.”

The Unknown is what you cannot see, hear, feel, know, second- guess, expect or control. There is no instruction manual and nothing familiar. The comfort zone is being eroded much like being in a swimming pool where all of a sudden the sides of the pool disappear and you find yourself in a vast body of water with no edges in sight. You will either sink or swim and this is the nature of this month. Fear will cause you to sink.

The willingness to be in a new experience will keep you afloat.

The UNKNOWN is like the dark. The creative mind goes wild without the reality check of the seen world. This can create the possibility for great delusion, fear, and physical, mental and emotional discomfort. On the other hand, when there is no reference point, the creativity is boundless and it can be much easier to think outside the box and eliminate limiting thoughts and beliefs as well as old patterns.

Thinking outside the box and bringing in your imagination can be freeing but tricky at the same time. You need to have some reference points and reality checks so you don’t simply fall into the void and get lost in your own delusions. Community will be important this month especially being with people who are on the same page as you are. If you are not in the right environment, workspace, relationship or community, it will become painfully obvious. If you are not able to make the changes you need to, don’t be surprised if spirit arranges it for you.

This could be a difficult month to navigate especially for those that do not have a good internal reference point and compass of their own spiritual practice. Whether it is participating in an organized religion or following a personal spiritual practice, it will exceptionally important to rely on it this month to guide you.

The time brings tremendous possibilities to recreate just about everything in your life. When you are dealing with the UNKNOWN, you can either hide in fear and wait for the night to be over, or you can explore the possibilities by opening your eyes, making friends with the shadows and using your other intuitive senses to “see” in the dark.

Darkness is the perfect canvas for the imagination and we all know that imagination is one of the building blocks of manifesting.

The exciting thing about this month is that we have the perfect opportunity to break through that membrane that represents a limited physical reality and expand ourselves into a larger container. We will need to move our security point from being defined externally to our internal knowing and sense of ourselves.

Your heart is the best compass you have and it always knows deep down inside what you truly want, who you truly are and what makes you happy. Trust your heart not your mind this month and beware of the mind trying to masquerade as the heart. At no other time has it been this imperative that you keep “don’t know mind”.

One of the biggest lessons and challenges for some of you will be to let go, really let go, of the need to know, the need to be right and the need to control. These three needs are needs of the mind and will derail you from the true power available this month.

Watch the stories your mind tells you in the attempt to understand this great dissolving of the known container. There is a fine line between delusion and reality. The reality this month is the great UNKNOWN. Delusion is just another expression of “the need to know” creating a new story that you can get attached to that may or may not manifest.

You may witness those around you dealing with the UNKNOWN in different ways. Some will have a difficult time of it especially if their shadow has to do with their self-worth. Some will become almost manic in their creative new stories, some will withdraw in deep fear, and others will be able to walk that tightrope, keeping their eyes open, trusting their instincts, doing their daily practices and honoring the path of the heart.

This month supports the healing of our deepest fears. When the shadow surfaces, as it will for all of us, the discipline will be to starve it of any power by facing it with a “don’t know mind” and humbly turning the whole process over to spirit. This is allowing the heart to lead instead of the mind. The heart can face the UNKNOWN with way more wisdom than the mind can.

How can you make the most of this month?

Turn your fears into delighted anticipation of a great surprise that is supportive and satisfying beyond your wildest imagination.

Release the past, forgive the past, and dissolve old beliefs and patterns.

Drop the need to know, the need to control, the need to be right.

Trust the heart, be creative, and dream big! The sky is the limit.

Be excited and inspired rather than fearful.

Face the unknown with confidence and a willingness to have everything turn out well. Watch Martyrdom. You are never the victim.

Get help when you need it. Your support people will be your best reference point when you feel lost.

Rely on your spiritual practice whatever that may be. Do something daily.

Be compassionate around others who are having a difficult time without matching them. Make a separation. Don’t be afraid to say no to what does not feel right.

Trust spirit and the larger order of things. Anchor the belief that it will all turn out OK.

How the month shows up

YOU PERSONALLY

Working with the unknown this month will have many faces. You may experience the surfacing of parts of your shadow that were unknown to you before. This is a good thing as what comes to the surface can also be more easily eliminated. You may revisit childhood fears recognizing that they have no power over you. You may gain a deeper understanding of what is yours and what belongs to someone else.

Another face of the Unknown is the opportunity to redefine and recreate yourself. This is tricky as the tendency for some of you can turn to the extreme, and you will need to be conscious of that. Remember that the body does not do well with extremes and a gradual process of change is sometimes easier.

Some of you may feel that you are at a crossroads where you need to make a choice. This choice may be internal such as around a belief or pattern that no longer serves, or it may be external, causing you to leave a job or a relationship or other environment. If your life is too static, you may find yourself making a choice or decision that will bring you into the unknown. If you get locked up in fear, spirit may give you a little help. If this happens do not feel victimized by it but see it as the change you created.

RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships are a container for learning, growth and karmic lessons. Beware of rash decisions and always give the benefit of the doubt this month. Trust the heart and “keep don’t know mind” whenever you feel confusion about the unknown quality of whatever may be happening in your relationships.

It is a good month to step into new ways of being in relationship. Working on your self worth, self esteem and ability to have what you want will manifest in these new relationship containers. Observe where you give your power away to old beliefs based on past experiences and work on eliminating and dissolving those old patterns.

Watch for paranoia around your relationships when the quality of the Unknown is present. This is where you need to trust your heart and to trust that whatever is the right thing will happen. If others around you are acting out, you may not be able to fix it. Relax.

ENVIRONMENT

Make sure your environment somehow expresses ways that you are recreating and redefining yourself. Be very aware of how symbolic your environment is to how you are dealing with your life right now. Pay attention to it daily, as it is your reference point in this time of the unknown. Bring beauty in, eliminate clutter, and make changes that support your movement forward. Make sure that your personal environment feels like a sanctuary and includes comfort and security. These are important when everything else may feel like uncontrolled chaos and confusion. You need to have a nest where you can re ground and reset yourself when you need to.

On a larger scale, the greater environment will also be acting “outside the box”. We may see anomalies in weather or planetary events. Things that have never happened before may bring up fearful responses and the attempt to understand, control or be right. The positive approach is to be delighted and excited, awed and empowered by these new developments. After all, the planet is very creative and we are in the Unknown.

HEALTH/PHYSICAL BODY

One of the lessons to be learned here is that the body is a highly adaptable, creative and responsive organism and it will respond just as powerfully to fear, as it will to positivity, optimism and a belief that anything is possible. Be very observant of what instruction through your beliefs you are giving your body every day. Refining your instructions could be your focus of change and recreating yourself for the month.

Our minds LOVE to define everything! We especially love to define physical conditions and diseases. This is our addiction to “the need to know”. Beware of definitions and diagnoses. Worrying about the safety and survival of the body is one of the surest and fastest paths to fear. If you “think” you have something going on or may possibly in the future have something going on, turn this thought into a “don’t know” attitude and allow for the unknown to be a positive container for your health and well being instead of a breeding ground for fear.

Challenges this month may be around kidneys (as they are related to fear), digestion and skin rashes. Remember that when there is a challenge it also presents itself as an opportunity for healing and getting beyond what the symptoms represent.

This is a good month to get some acupuncture, energy work and shamanic healing.

BUSINESS/PARTNERSHIPS/PROJECTS

Just when you think you have it figured out, spirit will throw a monkey wrench into your carefully planned and well-organized project. This does not mean it is a negative or challenging thing so watch that you don’t react negatively or fearfully. Throwing aspects of a project or business structure into the unknown can be very positive as it may force you to think outside the box and be a little more creative with your solutions. Of course this may lead to a restructuring or redefining of goals and values but that can also be a positive outcome. Watch that you don’t get too extreme or fall into a delusional place.

The UNKNOWN climate this month can breed great excitement, inspiration and enthusiasm. It is a great month to start something new. Just make sure you are not using old ideas and beliefs about how it should be done. Keep “don’t know mind” about the details while at the same time “knowing” in your heart through your own level of excitement and inspiration that you are on the right track.

There are aspects this month that make it a good time to examine your resources and move beyond your limiting beliefs about those resources. It is an excellent month for manifesting as long as you can eliminate any negative, victimized and limited thinking.

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The author of this commentary, Lena Stevens, is the co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom. Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You. Their website is http://www.thepowerpath.com

The theme for November is TURBULENCE.

This is a month that will require you to pay attention, be present, and ride the big waves of life as you move forward in life. Turbulence can throw you off, up, down, and sideways. Although we will certainly have physical manifestations of this theme, much of the turbulence will be experienced as your own internal processes around your relationships, your choices, your decisions, what you believe to be true, and your perceptions of how things are.

It will be a testy time with conflict ready to insert itself if it sees an opening. Martyrdom is well at work, as throwing blame around becomes the name of the game. Addictions, energy leaks, bad behavior, judgment and violent reactions to situations out of your control can all surface if you are not careful, present, and paying attention with both hands on the wheel.

How do you manage emotional turbulence?

You navigate through it. If you stop and stand still, you will be tossed about like a boat without a rudder. The only way to successfully navigate is to keep moving forward while steering with both hands on the wheel. You cannot afford to get distracted or you will be turned upside down and land in the ditch. So keep your eyes open and on the road, know where you are going and don’t let yourself get distracted by the voices that tempt you towards petty dramas, arguing your point, being right, needing to know, blaming others and not speaking your truth.

We are in a great time of completion before the next cycle begins. Think about the things you really do not wish to drag like a ball and chain into the next cycle. The emotional turbulence you feel may be your own indecision, confusion, attachment and insecurity making it difficult for you to feel secure, balanced and on track.

Turbulence is a product of instability in the environment. At this time nothing is fixed and therefore everything is unstable causing emottional turbulence. The best tool you can have during turbulent times is your own resilience and flexibility. If you take your eyes off the road or one hand off the wheel and suddenly find yourself upside down in a ditch, get up, dust yourself off and keep going.

Revisit your expectations of yourself and others. Expectations will stop the flow of energy much like coming to a stop while in the middle of turbulence. Remove all expectations and take a look at the current landscape in which you are navigating. Be present with what is, not what you expect it to be. Be willing to change your mind, your plans, your views and your life.

This is an incredibly exciting time and there is great power and even exhilaration in navigating through emotional turbulence. This is not boring. If you find yourself bored, you are surely not on the right track.

We have 2 eclipses this month adding fuel to the fire and insuring that there is no turning back.

We must go forward and learn to ride the surfboard of our own intentionality if we are to ride the wave of life and of our future. The view is certainly better from the top than it is from underneath.

How the month shows up:

YOU PERSONALLY

Up, down and sideways. You may experience turbulence on the inside or it may be coming from the outside caused by some event out of your control. Remember that the only way to navigate turbulence is to navigate through it by staying present with what is and not getting distracted as you move forward. Personally this may take the form of a challenge in your life, a complicated choice to make, or simply a desire to move yourself ahead in a direction that supports who you are. Watch for signs along the way and helpers that show up. Watch for synchronicity when you are on the right track. Telling the truth will insure you move in the right direction.

This is a good month for completions. Contemplate the cycles you have had in your life and observe which ones may be coming to an end. Do what you need to do to feel complete. The distractions may take the form of your own fear and worry, other peoples fear, worry or judgment, or just simply your own chaos that keeps you unfocused. You may need to be a bit ruthless with yourself and with others. Don’t be afraid to cause a little more emotional turbulence as long as it is the result of your own truth and moving forward instead of an unnecessary drama.

RELATIONSHIPS

Lots of bickering is possible as relationships try for stability on new ground. The platforms that many relationships were built upon will be dissolving making room for a complete reboot. Communication is ultra important and will need presence and discipline and paying attention to details as Mercury is retrograde for most of the month. Don’t be afraid to speak your truth in relationship as part of the new platform. The emotional turbulence this month is felt in the uncertainty that many relationships will go through.

In the process of resolution, new ways of being in relationship will be tried. As community is also important this month, community groups may change the way they do things or at least open the door to new possibilities. If you are experiencing emotional turbulence in your close relationships, try really listening and connecting with the essence of what is present. Honor the truth and then respond with your own truth. This is an interesting month for relationships as there is a current focus on moving towards cooperation rather than competition…

The above is an excerpt from Lena’s monthly forecast.

The author of this commentary, Lena Stevens, is the co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom. Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You.

Creativity by Leslie LeMieux

A time for evaluating and creativity.

You could be evaluating almost everything this month: Finances, work, environment, relationships, career, projects, health, practices, routines, home, your physical environment, your reactions to things, your beliefs, your spiritual life etc. The big question will be, “How important is it in your life, and does it serve you?” If not, there are adjustments to be made.

In order to evaluate anything you need to have the space and time to do it. There is a breather this month as the very yang action influence backs off a bit and allows us more clarity about what we have been doing and what we have involved ourselves in. If adjustments are in order don’t be afraid to make them. This is about putting yourself first and trusting that the right decisions will lead to the creativity needed to implement them.

One of the challenges will be to face the truth in your evaluation of something that may be a hard truth to see. If you allow yourself to be deeply disappointed, you will be. A great deal of neutrality this month will serve you better around facing some of these difficult but necessary truths. Remember that no matter how hard these adjustments are to make, they will bring great rewards of creativity and expansion.

How do you evaluate something in your life?

The first clue is that it does not feel right. It does not serve you. It gives you no satisfaction and it is an energy leak. When you put energy out, something has to come back. If it doesn’t, there is something wrong with the picture. If you feel drained instead of just simply tired after a day’s activities, you were not nurtured and fed by your experiences. Always ask yourself, “What am I getting out of this?“

True service towards others always feels good. Service offered out of ego, ingratiation, fear of rejection, Self-deprecation or Martyrdom is doomed from the beginning and will not end well. Learn to be discerning and to differentiate between right service and ego driven involvement.

The other big energy leak is getting overinvolved in other people’s drama. Evaluate this with neutrality and practical truth. Remove yourself from this unhealthy waste of time no matter how deliciously it may beckon you.

How do you make adjustments?

These will be different depending on each individual circumstance. The key is to adjust gradually by weaning yourself away from activities, relationships, practices and habits that do not serve you. Once in awhile it is appropriate to change something completely and dramatically but often it is too much for the ego to handle all at once.

Think it through. There is enough intellectually centered support to bring clarity and mental problem solving into the picture this month. Beware of impulsive decisions and give everything just a bit more time to sort itself out before making an adjustment. If there is no clarity, wait until there is before moving ahead.

You may run into something that needs to be adjusted that seems overwhelming to you. Start with the baby steps and do at least something towards a greater adjustment that may take a much longer time to accomplish. This would be the case in a huge change such as changing careers or making a big move or ending a long-term partnership. Sometimes just the decision to finally make this adjustment in your life is enough as long as you are committed to it.

So how does creativity fit into this picture?

We are still under the influence of the Artisan with Creativity as a major theme for the year. What blocks creativity is the encumbrance of all those things and activities that don’t serve you. Once you have cleared the decks and made space for something new, creating is the next natural step. In fact once you feel unencumbered, you may begin to feel more creative. Use your creativity as the inspiration and fuel for what you want to manifest.

The opportunities are for getting yourself realigned, for seeing great results in your creative endeavors and for manifesting more balance and well being for yourself. In other words, you could end this month feeling really great.

The challenges as usual will come from fear, resistance and confusion. As we mentioned last month, action always cures fear. Decisiveness around taking action towards adjustments will keep things flowing and not taking everything personally will keep you neutral.

How the month shows up:

YOU PERSONALLY

This is a great opportunity to make profound changes and adjustments in your personal life that will serve you better. You have support for ending this time frame feeling better and in a better situation than you have ever experienced before…

The above is an excerpt from the monthly forecast.

The author of this commentary, Lena Stevens, is the co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom. Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You.

Los Angeles, CA – October 18, 2011 – WarriorSpiritAudio.com (“WSA”) has released a self help audio that does far more than help people relieve stress and achieve deeply desired goals. Its ultimate purpose is to help people connect with their inner power and strengthen the faith in the power of themselves. Entitled ‘The Warrior Spirit—How To Use Hidden Mind Powers and Ancient Wisdom To Create Wealth and More’ it helps people feel more optimistic and relaxed.

“The Warrior Spirit audio gives step-by-step help to achieve personal goals with greater ease using higher mind states and shamanic wisdom. If the mind is filled to capacity with non-stop mind chatter, you make it difficult to create the results you want in your life. Stress prevents you from having insights, creative ideas and confidence that can help you achieve your goals; it weakens your ability to solve issues that trigger anxiety and stress,” says Mary Rivas, founder of WSA.

The audio and companion e-book are ideal for today’s environment where people experience a lot of anxiety over stressful events such as losing their jobs and homes. Latest statistics indicate that 75% of people experience stress regularly; more than half say they find stress debilitating and want to relieve stress. Stress is a key contributor to high blood pressure and heart disease.

The Warrior Spirit is different from common self-help books; it empowers people at a deeper level. It teaches people how to connect with a higher force and increase their personal power to relieve stress and overcome challenges in daily life.

Visit http://warriorspiritaudio.com to watch a video that shares wisdom and reveals how people can tap into their mind powers to relieve stress as well as change their lives for the better. Also, visitors can download a sample chapter of the audiobook and companion e-book.

# # #

About Warrior Spirit Audio

WarriorSpiritAudio was formed by Mary Rivas to help people use hidden mind powers and ancient wisdom to make life transforming changes. It offers resources to enable people to achieve inspired goals with greater ease. Visit www.warriorspiritaudio.com and sign up to receive stress management techniques, tips and more. Mary is an author and consultant. She has a psychology degree and has learned from shamans for over ten years.

Contact Mary at services@unlimitedinnerpower.com for additional press information or at (310) 598-7966.

This does not mean becoming more hyper-vigilant or controlling but rather becoming more present and taking notice from a place of expanded awareness. Most of us have narrowed our experience of life and ability to respond down to a very narrow band, being asleep or unconscious about the greater part of it. If we didn’t, we would be overwhelmed at what we have put up with and continue putting up with.

In the development of the mind and the mental ability to problem solve, we have traded in the awareness of our instinctual and emotional responses for the illusion of security in trusting that the mind can solve everything. We are quickly seeing that in these accelerated times not only can the mind not keep up, but that it limits our ability to respond in other ways so crucial to our survival at this time. The mind is almost never present. It is almost always either in the past; reviewing, judging, trying to understand, categorizing, filing and organizing; or in the future; planning, worrying, tracking, organizing and trying to get a handle on linear time. Notice that when you are doing a task that requires complete presence, the mind becomes quiet and inactive, taking a back seat.

Animals in the wild and other aspects of nature react to their environment with efficiency in their knowing, timing and action. This does not come from a place of mental planning but rather from being aware and responding to the present circumstances. Nature is very flexible. Because of our attachments, expectations and constant mental micromanaging, we have lost both the ability to be flexible and the ability to be instantly responsive. We have diminished our experience of life, we have fallen asleep, and we forgotten how to trust and be present.

We are still in an emotionally centered year. The emotional center is there to teach us a different way of reacting. The emotional center is not about emoting or being emotional. It is about relying on a different level of intuition that takes in way more information than the intellectual realm of the mind can ever process. We need to remember how to use this center more effectively so that we can trust our non-mental process and begin to give it more credit. The mind is a very useful tool and it is important to use it to set intentions, goals and direction, but we cannot expect the mind to get us there. The mind on its own is not capable of driving enough energy to accomplish anything. It is too limited and yet we have given it this impossible task. No wonder we feel helpless, powerless, fatigued and confused.

It will take time to turn this pattern around and you can start by waking up your senses and paying attention to your surroundings by being more present and aware. If you spend a little bit of time every day in non-mental awareness practicing being present, you will exercise this part of yourself and eventually it will become automatic. This is what is required in order to move into a higher state of consciousness at this time. Anything you can do this month that raises your consciousness is an excellent use of the influences. Any practices that help connect you to spirit and get you out of your mind will also be very helpful.

There will be many lessons and opportunities to see just how effective you can be without your mind trying to control everything. The discipline will be to keep yourself present and out of the past and the future. This is the time to step up to the plate, show up fully and take responsibility for yourself, your actions and your truth. It is time to get out of denial, to open your eyes and all your senses, to truly look at what you have been putting up with and to do something about it. This requires courage and action and you may not always get positive responses from others, as misery loves company. When you decide to take the high road you may need to set some boundaries against certain energies that are no longer compatible. Remember that negative reactions from others are usually projections and it is important not to take things personally especially when you know you are on the right track.

By the same token, if you are having a strong negative reaction to someone or their actions, you may need to look at how you may be projecting on them or how their actions may have threatened your own complacency and denial. See each of them, as a teacher and a mirror, stay neutral, present and awake.

This is an incredibly accelerated time where incredible things are possible. You need to watch for the aggression mode of the year showing up in negative ways both in yourself and in others. Since the mind is being quickly surpassed by the speed of things these days, you also may experience anything from feeling like you are losing your mind, panic attacks, anxiety and amnesia. This is much about the dissolving of linear time and thus the tracking method of the mind. Watch also for bleed-through from the astral plane at inconvenient times, throwing you momentarily off the course of linear thought. You are being called upon to trust all the other senses, to trust your intuition and to learn to process information in a different way. The acceleration of the times makes it possible to accomplish way more than your mind would “think” possible. At the same time, if something is destructing, it will take much less time than “usual” for it to completely destruct. Any process is aggressively accelerated in these times so if something seems stagnant or not moving, all it needs is a spark of intention to set it on course.

Click here to access the full monthlycommentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health, finances and more. Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerptfrom the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom. Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

When a vehicle gets out of alignment it shakes and shimmies and wants to veer off the road. What causes it to get out of alignment is hitting bumps, potholes and other obstacles. If a vehicle is left in this condition for too long, the tires will wear out. A vehicle will not realign itself. You have to take it in for help.

Many of you have been hitting potholes, bumps and roadblocks in your life experiences, throwing you out of alignment with your expectations and what you perceive to be your physical environment. You feel off center, somewhat ungrounded and unfocused. With the aggression mode of the year this feeling may even be exaggerated. Many of you are still looking for support and wisdom in the wrong places, in an old model or outdated paradigm. You expect that if you do certain things or have certain thoughts or focus your energy in a specific way, you will achieve predictable results. The personality is confused by the potholes and roadblocks and doesn’t quite know what to do next.

This month provides the opportunity for realignment we have all been waiting for but you have to meet the challenge half way. If you do the work, you will be rewarded. If you expect to be handed realignment on a silver plate, you may be waiting a long time and wear your tires out in the process.

What does realignment mean?

Daily life consists primarily of a sequence of events and experiences that are guided and measured by points of reference. Your points of reference are made up of your external physical structures such as your home and everything in it, your physical tools for living, your physical accessories to your person, the greater physical environment such as roads and buildings in your community, and the physical placement of these physical points of reference. You also have points of reference such as time and schedules, your daily habits and rituals including meals, hygiene and practices; your belief systems, your own measures of accomplishment and success, and your own measures of satisfaction, love and acceptance based on the responses of others. This structure you have created for yourself allows you to function in this physical life.

What we have now is a condition of this structure being out of alignment with the higher vibration hitting the planet at this time. Since we all have an underlying desire for change and evolution, that desire supersedes the personality’s attachment to the current structure. Although this change towards a higher vibration has been a gradual process, there are markers along the way that remind us of what we need to do and that anchor the change that has already occurred. This time frame we are in now is one of those markers and provides and opportunity for necessary realignment.

One thing that a higher vibration allows for is a greater conscious access to the quantum field. There is a greater capacity for seeing exactly how your thought forms and your belief systems create your reality, and a greater capacity for opening your intuition and expanding your senses, allowing for a more multidimensional experience of life. This is truly an exciting time. However you must be willing to do the work and meet this challenge half way for there to be results.

If things are not working the way they used to or the way you want them to, there is a reason. If you feel you are coming up against a brick wall in your efforts, either your efforts are focused in the wrong direction or your motivation is out of alignment. What does it mean to do the work and to meet the challenge half way? It means giving up your old dreams. It means being willing to release and let go of anything you know in your heart does not serve you. This may include relationships, habits, inappropriate work, any activity run by the obstacles (stubbornness, impatience, martyrdom, self-deprecation, arrogance, greed, self-destruction), physical environment or location not serving you, and taking on responsibility or karma on that is not yours. It means being willing to trust your intuition and having the courage to act on it. It means paying attention to the points of reference you have and changing your relationship with them from one of dependency to one of cooperation and exchange. It means becoming so flexible that you don’t question when your physical environment changes in ways the mind cannot comprehend.

Contemplate what it would be like to walk out in the morning and find your car parked in an entirely different place than where you parked it the night before. Contemplate what it would feel like to have a part of your physical environment suddenly become foreign and unrecognizable to you. This has occurred on a smaller scale for some of you with keys and other small objects disappearing and appearing in a different location. You may have also come back from a long trip or time away from your known environment and felt like you did not recognize the streets that had been familiar to you in the past. These are all examples of the fluidity of the physical realm manifesting itself as you slide around between parallels. So part of the work is becoming more flexible and releasing your attachment to the placement that has become habitual for most of you. In fact you can help this part along by taking action and moving your physical environment around or even moving into a new physical environment.

Doing the work means changing your points of reference to reflect an inner anchor rather than an external one. Most of the points of reference are external. Visualize your life with you in the center as the hub of a three dimensional wheel and all your reference points revolving around you like the spokes of that wheel. The external crust these spokes have been plugged into has now disintegrated compromising the integrity of the whole structure. There is no longer any stability in the old form and you find yourself reaching for a connection that is no longer there. What is absolutely necessary at this time is to realign where you are connected and where you expect to be connected. Instead of your physical points of reference providing you with structure, there is now a need to align yourself with the non-physical points of reference. Visualize yourself still as the hub but now with a strong channel reaching up into the sky and aligning with the sky realm; the universal masculine and patriarchal energy; the sun, moon and stars, and all the inner wisdom and intuition and comes from that realm. Another strong channel reaches down and deep into the earth connecting and aligning you with the earth and the universal feminine and matriarchal energy, and all the wisdom and creativity embodied in you from that place. Use this new alignment as an axis, moving the power away from the external and into yourself and this new alignment. It is not that you need to eliminate your external points of reference. It is simply that you need to put them secondary so that you become aware of how they are governed by the unseen forces of the quantum field.

This realignment will affect many areas of your life, different for each one of you and too extensive to go into in this forecast. Just be aware of anything that is different and be aware of your attachment to current external physical points of reference. Work proactively with this realignment; ask for help and welcome change. Watch where you resist rather than accept. It is very simple. Resistance closes the energy, shuts the door to change and causes great mis-alignment. Acceptance opens the energy, creates possibilities and moves you towards alignment. Remember that the universe is naturally organized. And the natural order of things is to move towards order and alignment. You throw roadblocks in the way of your own ease when you resist. Any resistance, judgment, blame or denial will only cause you to suffer and feel victimized. Take advantage of this opportunity to move forward, realign with spirit and trust that your greater self knows what it is doing.

Click here to access the full monthlycommentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health, finances and more. Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerptfrom the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom. Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

This month begins a much larger cycle of bringing all the disconnected parts back into communication with each other. In the name of individuality and based on the model of competition, the right hand has not known what the left hand is doing for a long, long time. The masculine has been disconnected from the feminine, our personalities have been disconnected from our essences, the mind has been disconnected from the heart, systems of the physical body have been disconnected from each other, and we have been living in an uncooperative, separate, lonely, dysfunctional world. There is no communication, everything is secret, and we guard our ideas, hearts, generosity, emotions and energy, measuring them out in small amounts and then only for the highest price. We are just as stingy with receiving as we are with giving, guarding ourselves against the danger of exploitation and the fear of annihilation. What a sorry state we have found ourselves to be in at this juncture of our evolution.

With all that said, we now have a great opportunity to change this pattern around from one of separation to one of cooperation and community. The theme of getting two sides of the same edge to communicate and work together is a huge one. This is just the beginning of a process that will probably take years but is necessary and inevitable as the next step in our evolution on the planet as a species. When was the last time your heart spoke to your little toe or your liver spoke to your pancreas? When was the last time you spoke to your food with gratitude for where it came from? When was the last time you asked for help?

We have been fed an illusion that power comes from being able to stand alone and to not rely on anything or anyone else. To some extent it is true that being self -sufficient is preferable to being overly needy, however this applies more to how you run your energy rather than to what you accomplish in the world. It is a known fact that when you have help and support you can accomplish a great deal more than if you don’t. What would it be like to have all your body parts cooperating with you in accomplishing a physically challenging endeavor? What would it be like to have help and support come easily, naturally and without conditions? And what would it be like to be confident that your intentions will always manifest because you trust 100% that it will be so? It is time to change our approach to life from one of effort and mistrust to one of believing in the cooperation of the universe.

There is a focused energy to the month that will work well with the aggression mode of the year when used in conjunction with your clear intentions. Intentions should be set very specifically and with plenty of flexibility for cooperation and support. Intentions should always be set around how you want to end up feeling and how satisfied you wish to be in your life. So when you are setting an intention for prosperity, instead of a dollar amount, set your goal to be what you intend to feel and what you imagine that amount will give you in terms of satisfaction. That way you give the universe more options for cooperating with you on manifesting your intention. Likewise if you are looking for a relationship, be specific on how you wish to feel in that relationship instead of what you think it ought to look like. The points of reference for the achievement of goals and manifesting are outdated and we are just now in the process of creating new ones. We have not yet experienced what it would be like to live life from a fully supportive and cooperative place where there was never any concern that an intention would not manifest. These are uncharted waters and a very exciting time on the planet where anything is possible provided we keep eliminating our attachment to old ways.

One of the aspects of this month is focus. Focus is important if you want to harness the engine that will drive your intention into being manifest. There can be no distractions and you have to be clear about what you intend. This is not a time to sit around and wait for something to happen. This is not a time to become frozen with fear like a deer in headlights. This is a time to move, to act, to intend, to ask, to pray, to get support and to be cooperative. Cooperation is a two way street. You must be cooperative yourself if you want to have cooperation. Part of this process is simply coming into an awareness of all things being connected. Set the intention to do your part and everything else will fall into place. Consider yourself and all that you have around you that supports you in life. Think of that support system as being a connected community of parts and pieces that need to work together to synthesize your life. From your car to your house to your clothes to your plumbing to the food you eat to your body functions to your friends, work, nature, time, your bank, grocery store etc.; they are all connected and form a cooperative community of sorts that supports your life.

Many of you have the illusion of being separate, alone, disconnected and unsupported and yet you are not. If you begin to focus on how everything is connected then you will begin to experience a greater sense of support, belonging and harmony. You will begin to streamline your intentions and trust the universe to deliver. Your life will become richer and you will feel more active and participatory rather than passive and victimized. So be aggressive about what you want but be a cooperative participant in the setting and manifesting of your intentions. One of the biggest lessons of these times is to learn to communicate and learn to trust. The fear of disillusionment and disappointment has kept most of us from communicating our deepest wishes. We don’t want to be seen as arrogant, foolish and unrealistic so we have kept ourselves small and secret. It is time for that practice to be done with and time to turn our sights towards a more intimate, trusting and cooperative pattern where so much more is possible. Instead of asking why, we should be asking why not.

Whenever you are working with a theme, the opposite of the theme shows up to illuminate the lessons. So in the case of cooperation what you may experience first is the uncooperative aspect of your life. You may be shown where you are disconnected and where there is effort. You may experience life as being very uncooperative. Should this happen, acknowledge the reminder and get to work changing your attitude. We have a tremendous opportunity right now to connect up the dots, to heal the rift between opposing forces and to get ourselves back on track. When you think of cooperation think of connecting right and left, behind and in front, up and down, inner and outer, the heart and the mind, masculine and feminine, giving and receiving, the body and spirit, all with the intention of getting them to communicate and cooperate.

Click here to access the full monthlycommentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health, finances and more. Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerptfrom the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom. Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

For a more complete discussion on the themes and influences for 2011 link here to order a download of TRENDS 2011 (link here).

You could say that aspects of physical life on this planet have been in a winter cycle of hibernation. Certain attitudes and behaviors have been repeated and repeated with very little change towards a more evolved way of being. The planet, and therefore each one of us individually as well, is currently having its soil turned from a deeper place, uncovering an underside that has not been broken up or aerated for a very long time. It is disruptive and often fatal to whatever is left from the previous cycle when the tiller of change comes plowing through. Even some of the worms that are in service to keeping the soil from being completely calcified are sacrificed along the way. Roots of old harvests, dry stalks, rocks, clumps of clay, and relatively “dead” soil comes to the surface. What is exposed in the process is now to be seen, identified, broken up, sorted and cleaned up. This process can at times be violent and require force depending on the extent of the hardness or calcification needing upturning.

The underside with all of its stagnant and calcified dirt clods represents an old way of thinking, of being attached, of creating, of intending, of communicating, and of living. Nature is being extremely cooperative and helpful these days in turning its own soil. It is up to us to take the process from here and to do the sorting, the clearing of stones that represent the obstacles we put in our own way, and the breaking up of the hard calcified clods that represent the old calcified places in ourselves.

Many of you have already experienced the tiller of change that has disrupted the calm surface of stagnant soil. You are deep in the process of looking at what has been uncovered, appalled perhaps by the violent nature of the disruption, sorting through it, mourning the sacrifices, and feeling daunted by the task you see in front of you. When you look at soil that has been turned over and lies in clumps it is hard to imagine what a beautiful creative garden can grow out of it. Perseverance is required as you roll up your sleeves and get to work. Being neutral about what you see is imperative, so that regret, shame, guilt, anger, resentment or self-deprecation doesn’t waylay you. It is what it is. Remember that soil in any shape can be worked with to bring it to a fertile condition. So if you think you or your situation is beyond hope, think again. It is an insult to spirit and to nature not to give more credit to the larger picture of evolution and to see that all of this is just a part of the big plan.

Anything that can be interpreted as a disaster should be re-defined as an opportunity for fertility. Anything that seems like the end is only a threshold to a new beginning. Anything that seems old, dead and full of obstacles can be reworked into a fertile bed ready for something new. The key is your own willingness to remove the stones and to break up the clay that represents the attachments in your life. There is tremendous fear out there and you will be subject to its influence every day. Don’t buy into it as it blocks the creativity needed to work with the ground you are making fertile.

The process of aerating the soil represents aerating your own mind, ideas, habits and patterns. By moving things around and actively training your mind to release old ways of thinking, you are making room for new growth and new experiences. If something is too fixed and solid, it is no longer fertile. It is said that young minds are fertile and it is because they have not yet fixed on their version of reality. You must get yourself to that young-mind place if you wish to take advantage of this new age. Be willing to create the space in your perception that is needed to allow for experiences you cannot now conceive of. When you aerate soil, you bring in lighter material to increase good drainage. The lighter material required for good aeration is represented by a higher vibration of energy and the quantum field of possibilities that so often takes a back seat to the current drama unfolding in your life. The good drainage is your ability to eliminate what does not serve you quickly and efficiently without judgment, regret or anger.

Adding nutrients to recharge the soil is the next step. Your own personal compost made of old waste is the best compost. All of your experiences and all of your teachings, challenges, lessons, loves, learning, and whatever you have done or not done, felt or not felt, thought or not thought in your life becomes rich compost for future manifestations. In order for you to have access to this compost you must acknowledge its existence. Harvest all that you have processed, honor and acknowledge it. When you save scraps of food to make compost for a garden you have to be actively engaged in the composting process. You could just as easily throw everything into the trash and have it taken away. Out of sight, out of mind. But then you don’t get your own compost. You can always use some one else’s, but personal compost is way better. In working your own experiences into the soil of your circumstances to make it fertile, you are also giving value to your life. You are acknowledging the tremendous value in everything you have done, thought, felt and experienced.

Because the garden is such a good analogy we invite you to make a chart or a list of these concepts and work with them daily, finding your personal representations of clay, rocks, aeration, drainage and compost.

Freedom is also a very important to acknowledge and work with during these times, understanding it for yourself and where it fits into the greater scheme of working with creating fertile ground especially around the concept of aeration and loosening up your attachment to the way things have always been. Jose has a wonderful and timely audio on the subject that will give you additional ways to take full advantage of the opportunities at this time. (Link to Freedom Through and From “Time” audio here)

Even through we think of Fertility as a feminine condition, in order for your seeds to actually grow in the fertile ground you have created you need the masculine spark. That masculine spark is represented by the fire element and your own spark of inspiration around what is possible when you get your hands into the soil. You cannot be afraid of getting dirty or working hard. Anyone who has had the vision of a garden and then has actually seeded, cared for, and then harvested one, can attest to the great feeling of reward at harvest time. So be inspired by your process and the tremendous opportunities available for seeding a new way of being, a new way of thinking, a new way of living, new projects, a new environment, new work, new relationships, new attitude, new ideas. This is a tremendously fertile time on the planet. Look at all the compost we have available to us. Look at all the turning of the soil and aeration taking place. We are truly ready to plant new seeds and to spark them to grow through our own inspiration about the future we are creating. We need to think positively about what we can plant and how fast it can grow. Remember that this is also an accelerated time where things can manifest very quickly.

A good garden is nurtured, watered, exposed to the right amount of sunlight, weeded and pruned when necessary, and protected from harm. If you are inspired to plant some seeds of creativity in your life, protect the seedlings from the judgments of others and any of your own negative thoughts and attitudes that can harm their growth. You are often your own worst enemy and need to be aware of the damage you do to your own creative process by not trusting in yourself or in spirit. Build a good fence around you garden that consists of practices that keep you on track. Make a habit of not believing everything your mind tells you and be persistent and persevering in weeding out the doubt, the fear and the negativity that threatens to choke the growth. A good set of practices will also act as nourishment. Feed yourself with beauty, love, inspiration and all the energy that nature provides. Look to the sun and look to spirit to guide the timing. The times are fertile and all you have to do is pay attention and stay positive.

Click here to access the full monthlycommentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health, finances and more. Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerptfrom the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom. Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

For a more complete discussion on the themes and influences for 2011 link here to order a download of TRENDS 2011 (link here).

The dangers of Japan’s nuclear power plant meltdowns continue
to escalate, yet very few media sources can be relied upon for
truthful coverage. One thing is clear—our brothers and sisters
in Japan need our prayers more than ever.

Ancient spiritual teachings have long warned of horrific
disasters that would affect the planet around this time.
These are highly energized times. While the chaos around us
will accelerate going forward, these times also present
unprecedented opportunities for spiritual growth. Each of
us will need to choose wisely. Now more than ever, we will
need to be guided by our higher self, that inner voice that
speaks to us from within.

There is no time for fear or worry. To indulge in heavy
emotions that rob our energy is not only wasteful but also
injurious to the spirit. A warrior that drains himself of
energy cannot survive well.

All education for your spiritual and physical well-being
needs to be accelerated. Balance is key. Invest time and
resources to strengthen your spiritual connection. And,
invest time and resources to protect your physical body
on every level. In future e-mails, I will introduce you
to resources as I am inspired to do.

In this e-mail, I wanted to tell you about a video that
provides extremely interesting ancient knowledge about the
current times. The presenter provides jewels of wisdom in
his two videos called The Mayan Calendar Comes North. He
addresses the importance of developing your intuition during
these times. It is definitely worth watching.

Invite a friend to watch it with you and discuss it. Just
keep in mind that it is a very rare being who can accurately
make predictions about dates.

The recent news about the emergency in Japan following the meltdown of one of its nuclear power plants has triggered increasing concerns about the risk of further plant failures, the fallout and the effects of radiation.

The primary danger from exposure to dangerous levels of atmospheric radiation is very rapid absorption of radiation by the thyroid glands which can then distribute lethal doses throughout the body via the lymphatic system to all organs and systems. Many doctors are recommending potassium iodide as a preventive measure. It is a non-prescription drug which effectively prevents the thyroid glands from absorbing radioactive fallout.

Personally, I prefer to use foods directly from nature as preventive medicine. Fortunately, nature provides us with powerful resources that can help counter the effects of radiation. Seaweeds, such as kelp, provide protection against radiation. Also chlorophyll-rich foods, such as spirulina, chlorella and wild blue-green micro algae, are known to counteract radiation. Health stores carry tablets and drops that contain combinations of chlorella and spirulina for example. The herb astragalus is known to improve recovery time from radiation.

According to the author of Healing With Whole Foods, Paul Pitchford, you can counter the effects of radiation through common foods, such as panax and Siberian ginseng, garlic, barley-grass, buckwheat, apples, fresh sunflower seeds and lecithin. The glucoside rutin found in buckwheat is what provides protection. Apples and fresh sunflower seeds contain pectin, which binds radioactive residues and removes them from the body.

Pitchford further explains that an excellent external treatment from every form of radiation exposure is a bath of sea salt and baking soda. This method is used by some radioactive isotope specialists to reduce their own bodily radiation. He recommends 1 pound of both sea salt and baking soda to a warm bath, and soaking for 20 minutes, then rinsing with cool water. Repeat three times a week for one month in cases of serious exposure. Adding clay to the salt/soda bath is another decontamination procedure. Some people will use ingest edible clays such as bentonite or French green clay. I highly recommend Pitchford’s book; it empowers you to take responsibility for your health with knowledge and wisdom.

Take responsibility for your health and total well-being by becoming empowered with knowledge on every level. Do your own research; do your own thinking. Then, meditate on what you learn and make your own decisions. Don’t depend on anyone out there—including the conventional “experts” to tell you what you should do. And remember the power of quieting your mind and prayers.